FOX LAKE, Ill. -- Authorities broadened the hunt Wednesday for three people wanted in the fatal shooting of an Illinois police officer, even as they acknowledged that they had no indication the men were still in the area where the slaying happened.
After an intensive 14-hour "grid search" of homes, railroad tracks and marshland in the village of Fox Lake, the manhunt turned to the painstaking detective work of chasing down tips, collecting and reviewing surveillance video and interviewing residents near the crime scene. Meanwhile, new search teams rippled out into subdivisions beyond the initial 2-square-mile perimeter established Tuesday. At least 100 investigators were on the ground.
A major challenge for investigators was the lack of a description of the men beyond the vague one that came from the officer, who told dispatchers he was pursuing three suspicious men -- two white, one black -- moments before he was shot.
"That was the only description provided," said Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Cmdr. George Filenko, the lead investigator on the case. "So of course we're getting the public calling in every time they see that match of three individuals or even two individuals. We've closed out those leads completely as being unsubstantiated."
Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz, a 30-year police veteran, was shot Tuesday morning while pursuing three men he spotted on his way to work along a roadway with nothing around but open fields and abandoned-looking businesses, Filenko said. Gliniewicz told dispatchers the men ran into a swampy area, and he requested a second unit.
Dispatchers soon lost contact with him. Backup officers found him about 50 yards from his squad car with a gunshot wound. He died soon after.
Filenko said there was no indication he was intentionally targeted, though authorities did not rule out that possibility.
The initial search for his killers involved law enforcement agencies from across the state. Some wore tactical gear and carried high-powered rifles. Officers took up positions on rooftops and along railroad tracks and scanned the terrain through rifle scopes and binoculars. Others leaned out of helicopters with weapons at the ready.
On Tuesday night, they declared the initial search zone clear, allowing investigators to begin poring over the crime scene and surrounding area.
Still, they knocked on doors with caution.
"I believe that the search teams did a thorough job, but I know there have been a number of national incidents where suspects have cleverly escaped or hidden in place," Filenko said. "So anything's possible."
Investigators were reviewing video recordings, but so far none has captured images of the three, Filenko said.
Despite the challenges, he told reporters that he felt the teams were making progress.
"As always, we're relying on the public, too," he said. "All it takes is one tip or good lead to break a case wide open."
Residents of the community were urged to stay vigilant. Schools that were locked down the day of the shooting were closed a day later.
Mayor Donny Schmit described the slain officer as a personal friend and a father of four sons.
"We lost a family member," Schmit said of the 52-year-old officer known around town as "GI Joe." "His commitment to the people of this community has been unmatched and will be dearly missed."
Workers adorned the village hall with black and purple bunting in a display of mourning. Several evening vigils were planned.
Takoa Thomas, 11, stood on the side of a road with a handmade sign that read "Cops' lives matter. RIP GI Joe."
"I wanted to be out here to show support," the boy said.
His mother, Tara England, 41, said the boy's school was closed, and she had mixed feelings about her family's safety.
"One of the reasons I'm out here is I don't want to be home alone," she said. "My husband's at work."
"But if it were me, I'd be long gone," she said of the killers.
On Wednesday night, hundreds of people gathered at a Fox Lake park for a vigil in memory of Gliniewicz.
The officer's widow, Melanie Gliniewicz, took to a stage in Lakefront Park surrounded by her sons. She thanked the people attending the vigil and those offering their support and prayers.
"My world got a little bit smaller with his passing, and he will truly be missed by all of us," she said, adding her husband was her "best friend, my hero, the love of my life for the last 26 and a half years."
A minister, Mike Johnson, said Gliniewicz died serving the community and was about helping others. He asked the crowd who among them would replace Gliniewicz.
The area near the Wisconsin border area is popular for boating and other outdoor activities because of its forest preserves and a chain of lakes that partly encircles Fox Lake.
Gliniewicz's death is the third law enforcement fatality in Illinois this year, according to the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, which tracks officers' deaths so their names can be placed on a memorial in Washington.
Information for this article was contributed by Jason Keyser and Carrie Antlfinger of The Associated Press.
A Section on 09/03/2015